Exciting times lie ahead for Scottish readers

You know you've had a busy weekend when you wake up feeling exhausted on Monday morning. I did feel tired when the alarm went off today but also delighted and lucky to have been involved in putting together the first-ever Scottish edition of the Morning Star.

We celebrated in good style with the launch event at the STUC on Saturday night, then it was back to the Sunday grind to work on more stories for Monday.

The last time a Scottish edition appeared it was the Daily Worker, during the second world war.

The Star has been getting to Scotland on the day now for the last few months and we've been busy trying to improve the Scottish coverage.

That has resulted in a sales uplift which is gratifying - but the increase is not yet enough to sustain the paper.

And in fact I wasn't actually expecting us to have the resources or the printing capability to produce even one Scottish edition for the foreseeable future.

So when the editor told me it was possible, I was delighted - and now that we've done it I feel optimistic that it is the first of many.

"It can be done - because it has been done."

These were the words of Jimmy Reid at the final mass meeting of shipyard workers - after the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in had forced the government to step in and save the Clyde yards and thousands of jobs.

Perhaps our single Scottish edition is a little less momentous an achievement. But when the workers of Scotland take on the overweening power of our present rulers and their corporate friends, the Morning Star will be there to help them make their case.

I'd love to have a Scottish edition every day - or even once a week would be a start.

I'd love to have extra pages to fill with all the stories we just don't have space for right now.

I'm guessing our dedicated Scottish readers also wish that. All of that depends on one thing - winning new daily readers.

That's why our readers and supporters groups, and shareholders such as trade unions and the co-operative movement are so vital.

If you want a weekly or a daily Scottish edition, get involved in the campaigns your local readers and supporters groups are running. Get involved in the support your trade union offers the Star.

Even if you only persuaded one more person to buy and read the Morning Star every day, that will make a real material difference.

If every Scottish daily reader recruited just one more person, we would be in a position to meet the aspiration for a regular Scottish edition.

And a special mention to…

A special thanks to our comrades who sell the Star on Saturdays in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

It was freezing on Saturday when editor Richard Bagley, columnist Louise Raw and myself joined the crew in Glasgow's Buchanan Street.

But the team are there rain hail or shine, and have faced down violent attacks by our grim handful of racist BNP/SDL thugs. With dedication and action like that, we can't fail.